Prairie Region of Photographic Arts

The Prairie Region of Photographic Arts is a regional association of amateur photographers in the prairie provinces of Canada – Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba – with a wide variety of photographic interests and experience.

Membership in PRPA offers you:

• opportunity to fellowship with other photographers

• participation in print, slide and digital competitions

• participation in the print and slide circuits

• the quarterly newsletter “Prairie Focus”

• a discount on the Annual June Outing

You may join PRPA as either a member of a PRPA Member Club (see Member Clubs link) or as an Individual Member. Membership is only $20 per year which runs from July 1 to June 30. Click here for printable membership form.

PRPA Competitions

PRPA provides the opportunity to compete with other amateur photographers beyond your local camera club. This is especially advantageous for members of small clubs or individuals in areas lacking a club. The competitions are friendly and the judges’ comments provide helpful feedback on ideas to improve your photos. The winners are awarded certificates and ribbons presented annually at the June Outing.

PRPA member clubs take turns judging the competitions. Each club is requested to judge at least one competition each year. The slide competitions  are held in the fall with a November 1 deadline; the print competitions are held in the spring with an April 15 deadline. Four digital image competitions  are held each year, three in the fall and one in the spring, with the same deadlines as the others. The Outing Competition (see below) with both slide and print formats is held in conjunction with the June Outing.

Winning images of past competitions can be viewed here.

Slide and Print Circuits

The PRPA slide and print circuits provide an opportunity to have your photos critiqued by other circuit members. The circuits can be especially valuable for individual members who have no active camera club nearby. Learn from positive criticism of your work and evaluate the work of others.  It can be fun! Click here  to see how they work.

The Prairie Focus Newsletter

This quarterly newsletter keeps the members of PRPA informed and in touch. The newsletter contains:

• information on upcoming PRPA competitions & events

• competition results and images of winning photos

• club reports describing activities of member camera clubs

• reports on PRPA board meetings and AGM

• reports from PRPA committees

• articles on a variety of photographic topics

Members have the option of having their Prairie Focus mailed in printed form or e-mailed in pdf format. The current year’s issues are also available in the Members Only section of this website; you can view past issues here.

PRPA Annual June Outing

The biggest event of the PRPA year is the Annual Outing which takes place on a weekend in June.

The Outing includes the PRPA annual meeting, a guest speaker slide show, a variety of photographic tours and workshops, the Showmanship slide show competition, the awards presentations, a slide show of entries from the year’s slide competitions, a display of print competition entries, and the Outing Competition.

The best part of the Outing is the opportunity to meet with other PRPA members. It’s a fun filled weekend of photography and fellowship.

Follow these links for more information on the Annual Outing,  including information on the upcoming Annual Outing and reports and photos from past Outings.

© 2009 Prairie Region of Photographic Arts

all images are the property of the original photographer